4 Ways Agricultural Farms Benefit From Solar Energy

Solar energy has gained immense popularity over the past few years, enabling humans to power their daily activities in sustainable ways. The main purpose of solar power utilization is to reduce the world’s dependence on non-renewable energy resources such as fossil fuels. Since solar energy is natural, renewable and is also beneficial for the environment, it can help decrease pollution, reduce water scarcity, improve health standards, and mitigate climate change.

Solar energy use is not just limited to residential, commercial, and office buildings. It is extremely beneficial for various types of agricultural setups including farms, breweries, wineries, and more. Solar power system installation benefits for agricultural farms include increased productivity and decreased energy costs among many others.

A lot of people are unaware of the areas where solar energy can be beneficial to agricultural farms. Continue reading to find out where you can use solar energy in farming and maximize the benefits of this energy source.

Cheaper Than Fossil Fuels

The cost of solar panel installation can be quite high for many people to implement in the initial stage. However, with the reduction of energy costs over time, the return on investment for solar energy is much higher than that of fossil fuels. It can cut the electricity bills on farms significantly and eliminate added costs pushed during electricity peaks by electric companies. In fact, many countries around the globe offer farmers incentives for switching to solar power systems.

Financial Incentives For Solar Farming

The Canadian federal government is offering its population solar incentives to switch to solar energy. In Saskatchewan, their Climate Action Incentive is offering small and medium-sized solar rebates ranging from 20,000 to 250,000 dollars which is up to 25% of project costs. This has significantly reduced the cost of going solar, enabling more solar panel installations across farmlands.

An Effective Solution To Drought-Related Problems

Farmers in Canada have experienced multiple droughts over the past few decades. The drought during 1999-2005 is one such example that swept across the whole country and caused considerable agricultural, economic, environmental, and societal damages.

Agricultural production losses were close to 3 billion dollars in the Canadian Prairie Provinces. Another notable example is the extreme drought of 2015 in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia, which has been partly attributed to climate change.

Every year, farmers face the uncertainty of power and water supply to their agricultural lands due to drought. With solar energy systems in place, you no longer have to rely on a third party for your energy requirements and related farming activities. Farms powered by solar energy require less water delivery and promote photovoltaic panel growth instead of conventional crops.

Although the agricultural yield by solar power is less than that carried out by using fossil fuel energy, it is a viable solution in areas with water scarcity.

No Soil Hazards

Unlike other alternatives, solar energy helps in creating a wildlife and plant-friendly habitat and does not cause any disruption to the ground and soil on agricultural farms. The solar panel installation process doesn’t harm crops, whether you are integrating above-ground or on-ground panels. Moreover, solar power systems are easy and cheap to maintain. They also allow more room for plants to grow and farm animals to graze.

Reduce Global Warming

Climate change and global warming have been a major concern to scientists and environmentalists for many years. It is a topic of debate even outside of the agricultural community. Utilizing renewable energy resources is one of the most productive ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Solar farms drastically reduce the carbon footprint produced by farmers that contributes to global warming.

In addition to the production of renewable energy, solar farms also feed surplus power to the main grid, distributing clean energy.

Read: How Can Solar Power Systems Ensure A Better Future?

About Us

At Sundawg Solar, we provide quality solar energy system installation in Saskatchewan. We can help your home, business, or farm become more sustainable and energy-efficient. Contact us for more information regarding rural solar power system installation and other services.